A day in the life...

What a day might look like for us in Champagne

We generally try to leave one day free of visits to producers so that we can kick back, enjoy a little bit of shopping, some good food and of course plenty of glasses of champagne.

When in Épernay, we base ourselves at the wonderful Le 25bis by Champagne Leclerc-Briant. A delicious breakfast is completed with a healthy glass of Réserve Extra Brut to set us up for the day. A short wander down the Avenue de Champagne for a little shopping, most likely Salvatori and Le 520, purveyors of exquisite champagnes. This gives us the opportunity to pick up a few bottles we've been hankering after. Chances are we will accidentally buy some incredible pâtisserie from Maison Dallet too! If I am unlucky enough, the wind will not have picked up too much and the ballon captif will be flying so Gita will drag me up to "enjoy" the view. Now, please bear in mind that after 26 years, I pretty much know the area like the back of my hand so have no further need for a birds eye view! After such an occasion, it will be back to the room for a nice strong cup of tea to calm the nerves (brought with us from England of course).

It will now be around lunch time so we will either pick up a light bite at le 25bis, Perrier-Jouët (depending on the season), La Cave de l'Avenue or somewhere similar. Our afternoon will likely start at Janisson-Baradon for a glass or three and catch-up with Cyril and Hiromi. from here we will head back up the Avenue where we may stop off at the tasting room for the association of independent producers, Collard-Picard (a family domaine form the Western Vallée de la Marne), A. Bergère (a family domaine from the Vallée du Petit Morin), Esterlin (a quality cooperative), Boizel (a mid-sized family house), De Venoge (a large house that produces rich prestige cuvées).

The evening will generally end up at Bar Brut in one way or another. It is a great bar showcasing World class organic and biodynamic small producers and offering plates of charcuterie, cheese etc. We will either while away the evening in the bar itself, pick-up a bottle to take back to our room (probably to spend the evening watching 'Un dîner presque parfait') or even to take to a restaurant such as La Table Kobus who offer a reasonable €13 corkage fee (free corkage offered midweek).

Bonne nuit!